


what we never take for granted

by ohallows



Series: cloud country [6]
Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, Fishing, Fluff, Gen, the stardew au continues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 10:56:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19990993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohallows/pseuds/ohallows
Summary: But that’s in the past. And now, Hamid finds himself on a boat, a little way from the shore of Dunnock Town, surrounded by friends, all trying to individually teach him how to fish. See, Hamid had made the mistake of saying that he’s never been fishing before, and that had resulted in Zolf, Sasha, and, surprisingly, Grizzop, all looking at him like he’d grown a second head and proclaiming that they would teach him.





	what we never take for granted

**Author's Note:**

> i can’t believe my 69th fic is this

Normally, being out on a boat in the middle of a gorgeous lake with friends would be Hamid’s ideal way to spend a Saturday. He, Bertie, Liliana, and Gideon had spent many Fridays leaving university early, ditching their last classes to go to the coast, using the McGuffingham yacht or, after Bertie’s family had had to sell theirs, the al-Tahan one. They’d all lay around in the sun for hours, passing drinks between them and jumping off of the back of the boat into the crystal clear waters of some Mediterranean island. 

Or, they had, until Bertie had had to leave to go and help work his family out of debt, until Liliana and Gideon had effectively shut Hamid out of their lives, until Hamid had been kicked out of university.

It doesn’t bear thinking about, not any longer. No one from Hamid’s old life had even attempted to contact him, which might be an unlooked-for blessing, although he does  _ miss _ Bertie, and wishes he could have explained the entire situation to Liliana before leaving. She probably still blames him for everything, which he can’t fault her for, but there’s still a part of him that regrets not being able to at least convince her that Gideon was part of it too. 

But that’s in the past. And now, Hamid finds himself on a boat, a little way from the shore of Dunnock Town, surrounded by friends, all trying to individually teach him how to fish. See, Hamid had made the mistake of saying that he’s never been fishing before, and that had resulted in Zolf, Sasha, and, surprisingly, Grizzop, all looking at him like he’d grown a second head and proclaiming that they would teach him. 

Except, of course, they all have completely different ideas about what is  _ actually _ the best way to fish, and none of them really seem to listen to Hamid when he says that he doesn’t really care about fishing. 

Azu is just along for the ride, it seems, smiling broadly at all of them while she reclines in a chair in the sun wearing bright pink sunglasses. Hamid is jealous, honestly. The boat is nice, too - apparently, Sasha and Zolf had bought it together years ago and shared it between themselves. There were two cabins belowdecks and enough space for all five of them to be comfortable on the deck. It obviously wasn’t as luxurious as Bertie’s or his family’s, but that didn’t matter to him anymore, not as much as it used to.

Zolf apparently must be up first to teach him, because Sasha and Grizzop are sitting up at the bow of the ship chatting. Sasha is spinning a knife around on her fingers and Grizzop is trying (unsuccessfully) to imitate her. Azu is watching both of them (although mainly Sasha) with a soft smile on her face, and Hamid can’t help the smile that creeps across his own face.

“Ready?” Zolf says, patting the seat next to him. Hamid decidedly  _ isn’t,  _ but he’s pretty sure that he doesn’t have a choice anymore, so he sits down, resigned. “Don’t look so glum, Hamid.”

“I’m just - I’ve gotten this far along in life without fishing, I think I’ll be fine to live out the rest?” Hamid tries, craning his neck back over to spot Azu laughing as Sasha pulls a face at her. There’s a chair open right next to Azu, perfect sunning position, and Hamid’s wishing he were over there next to her. 

“It’s easy, Hamid, you just wait for the line to tug and then you reel it in. Couldn’t be easier. And, hey, what if you’re out of food one day? What if I’m not here? You can catch some fish to sell at the shop.”

Hamid is pretty sure that, well, one, there’s a tavern in town that does sell food, and Hamid has been raking in some good money from the shop so he shouldn’t need to fend for himself; and, two, if Zolf somehow disappears, Hamid and all of them are going to be rather more concerned about finding Zolf and making sure he’s okay than going out on a fishing trip. He very  _ nicely _ doesn’t point this out to Zolf, and turns over to the fishing pole.

“Alright, so I’ve already put bait on the hook and cast the line, we just need to wait for a -“ the tip of the pole bows forward, cutting Zolf off as the line goes taut. “And then you reel it in.”

The fishing pole bends a little more in Zolf’s hand as he tilts it forward before pulling it back, reeling in the line as he goes. Hamid watches for a few seconds before his eyes drift back to Azu and Sasha and Grizzop, laughing up at the front of the boat. There’s a splashing sound to his side and his eyes snap back to Zolf, feeling a little bit guilty as Zolf holds up the fish he caught, gently pulling the hook out of it and tossing it into the bucket next to him. 

“See? Easy. Here, you give it a go,” Zolf says, scooching his chair over before reaching in to pull Hamid’s chair closer to the line. Hamid nearly physically recoils before he catches himself; it’s just the fishing line, there’s not even a fish on it, and he doesn’t need to flinch away from something that’s made of wood and cord. 

“Are you… are you sure?” he asks. Zolf gives him a reassuring smile, which does less in the way of making Hamid feel reassured than Zolf might think, since his stomach starts flipping. Hamid tries to copy the position that Zolf had held the line in, and glances over at him.

“Like this?”

Zolf tilts his head, considering, and reaches out, placing his hands over Hamid’s and gently moving them to the position that they should be in. He gives them a squeeze before letting go and points off into the water. Hamid doesn’t know  _ why _ his cheeks feel warm, but he makes a note to put some sunscreen on them whenever Zolf is done teaching him. 

“When you feel the line tug, you’re going to want to start reeling it in. There’s nothing big out here, so you shouldn’t have to fight with it,” he explains. 

“So… we wait?” Hamid says, raising an eyebrow at Zolf. 

He shrugs. “Well, yeah, until you get a bite.”

It doesn’t take as long as Hamid expected it to before he feels a gentle pull on the line, and then Zolf is telling him to reel it in while Hamid tries not to drop the fishing pole. The line gets suspiciously lighter as Hamid continues to reel it in, and his stomach begins to sink a little when the hook pops up out of the water, completely bare.

“Bugger got away with the bait,” Zolf says, frowning. “Bad luck, Hamid.”

Hamid rather thinks it’s more lack of  _ skill _ but he isn’t going to argue. Zolf pierces another piece of bait on the hook and holds the pole out to him. 

“Want another try?” he asks, and Hamid can’t back away quickly enough. 

“No, no, that’s alright,” he says, laughing as he holds his hands up in front of him. “You’ll do a better job than I will anyway.”

“Well, Zolf likes to think he knows what he’s doing,” Sasha says, ignoring his mildly offended ‘hey!’ while she stands up and stretches. “Everyone knows the best way to catch fish is by spearin’ em.”

She perches one leg on the side of the boat and holds her makeshift spear - something she must have made or found or  _ both _ at the antique shop, a long wooden stick with what looks like one of Sasha’s favorite knives attached to the end. A moment passes as she stares down into the water, eyes tracking the dark shapes that swim under and around their boat. 

And then she’s moving, spear flashing in the sun as it slips into the water, and she pulls it back with a self-satisfied grin to reveal the fish on the end of it. 

“Oh, well done!” Azu says, clapping. Sasha blushes nearly as red as the fish caught on the end of her spear and leans over to give Azu a quick kiss on the cheek, who reaches out to hold her free hand with a satisfied smile. 

Sasha rests the end of the spear over the bucket and slides the fish off of the knife, wiping the blood off of the blade with a towel that she tosses back to the deck of the ship. Zolf makes a pained face at it, but just looks up to the sky and doesn’t comment. 

“Now that,” she says, holding the spear at her side and tapping the bottom against the ship, “is the best way to fish.”

“Flashy,” Zolf grumbles, sitting back down on his chair and testing his line to see if it’s caught anything. Sasha sticks her tongue out at the back of his head and Hamid can’t completely stifle the little laugh he lets out at that. Zolf turns around with a suspicious look and Hamid looks away quickly, sure Sasha is doing the same on the other side, until Zolf turns back with a slight huff. 

“You wanna try?” Sasha says, holding the spear out for Hamid to take. He chews on his lip as he gingerly reaches out to grab it. It’s less heavy than he thought it would be, but he still looks at the knife on the end dubiously. 

“Sasha, I’m not sure if I -“

Sasha spins him around and guides him toward the edge of the ship. “C’mon, Hamid, never know unless you try.”

The edge of the ship is a bit too high for Hamid to completely imitate Sasha’s positioning, but he gives it his best go, holding the spear tightly in his hands. He watches the shapes move under the water, scales glinting in the sunlight as the fish briefly break the surface of the water. One drifts close to the ship and Hamid squeezes his eyes shut, stabbing the spear down into the water.

It doesn’t make contact with anything and Hamid feels himself overbalance and start falling into the water. He’s hauled back quickly as Sasha grabs at him, laughing.

“Lost your balance there, mate?” she says, taking the spear from him with a wink. He smiles weakly at her. 

“I told you it wouldn’t go well,” he mutters, running a hand shakily through his hair. “Can I go sit with Azu now? It’s a lovely day and I’m sure you three will catch enough fish for all of us.”

Grizzop stands and cracks his back, shaking his head. “My turn!”

Hamid doesn’t groan and look at the sky, but it’s a near thing. 

“Right!” Grizzop says, rubbing his hands together. “Now. This is the best way to catch fish. It takes a lot of practice, but once you’ve got the  _ pattern _ down it’s easier than anything else.”

He rolls his sleeves up and perches on the edge of the boat, staring down at the sea as his face pinches in concentration. In a flash, his hand pierces the water and there’s a scuffle as he pulls back, smile stretching across his face as he holds up a violently squirming fish. 

“Ta-da!” Grizzop announces. Hamid’s jaw drops as he hears Sasha snort from the other side of the boat, while Zolf just lets out a completely resigned sigh.

“Grizzop, fish have  _ scales _ , you’re going to cut yourself,” Azu says, rising from her chair and grabbing at his hand after the fish is dropped into the bucket. She looks it over for any cuts and lets it fall, fixing him with a reproachful look.

“Azu…” Grizzop says, pointing at himself. “I’m the town doctor. I can handle a few cuts from fish on my own.”

He wipes the grime and water off onto his shorts, and turns toward Hamid.

“I am  _ absolutely  _ not doing that,” Hamid says, staring at the fish in the bucket with undisguised disgust. “I don’t want to have to  _ touch _ one!” 

Grizzop rolls his eyes. “Then why’d you want us to teach you how to fish?”

“I  _ didn’t!” _ Hamid exclaims. “I don’t even really like fish, it tastes fine, I suppose, but it’s not my favorite meal, and I just wanted to spend some time with you all on the boat while I had the day off, and this seemed to be what you all wanted to do so I just went along with you because I like you and you’re my friends but I’d much rather be sitting back with Azu in the sun and watching you all instead of actually participating?” 

“Well, you could have done that,” Zolf says, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yeah, mate, you could have just told us,” Sasha adds, leaning on the back of Azu’s chair. Azu reaches up and grabs her hand and she smiles, resting her chin on the top of Azu’s head.

“I was - oh, nevermind,” Hamid says, sighing. 

There’s a noise from the bucket at his feet and Hamid glances down, immediately gagging. “I think - I think that one moved, oh god,” he says, scrambling back over to Azu’s side. She pats his shoulder comfortingly while Grizzop howls with laughter on the other side of the boat. 

“What are we… actually doing with these when you’re all done fishing?” Hamid asks.

“Frying ‘em up?” Zolf suggests, glancing around as everyone else.

It seems as good an idea as any. Sasha, Grizzop, and Zolf all bicker good-naturedly about how the others are wrong about the best way to fish. The arguing fades into the back of his mind as he  _ finally _ collapses into the seat next to Azu with a sigh of relief, laying back and letting the sun soak into his skin. 

**Author's Note:**

> we’re on a fluff lockdown bc everything else im writing is sad. yes i did write this much about people fishing. your point?
> 
> [griffin mcelroy voice] it’s time for a biG BASS CHALLENGE


End file.
